Relasi Hegemonik Dalam Praktik Gendering Produk Iphone Di Komunitas Merek Online @idevice.indonesia

DESSY KANIA, Prof. Dr. Faruk; Dr. Budiawan

2020 | Disertasi | DOKTOR KAJIAN BUDAYA DAN MEDIA

Antusiasme konsumen terhadap produk ternyata bisa terjadi lewat minimnya iklan yang diumpankan langsung dari produsen, seperti yang terjadi pada iPhone. Di Indonesia, gawai yang diproduksi oleh Apple ini hanya melakukan promosi untuk iPhone 6 melalui billboard. Selebihnya, promosi justru dilakukan oleh media dan terutama komunitas-komunitas di media sosial. Salah satu komunitas yang berperan adalah @idevice.indonesia, yakni forum online terbesar bagi para pecinta produk Apple [khususnya iPhone] di Indonesia dan berperan dalam menyebarluaskan serta mewadahi percakapan antaranggota atau member. Selain menyebarkan informasi seputar iPhone, kreativitas yang terjadi di dalam komunitas ternyata sarat akan praktik gender yang berkelindan pada gawai tersebut. Di titik ini, komunitas @idevice.indonesia yang melibatkan peran aktif moderator dan member bertindak sebagai prosumer yang mengonsumsi sekaligus memproduksi teks dan memberi dampak positif pada pemasaran iPhone. Dalam perspektif participatory culture, kehadiran prosumer seringkali dipandang sebagai pihak pasif yang dalam artian menjadi kaki tangan yang dimanfaatkan produsen. Dengan berfokus pada pesan bergender yang dibuat komunitas @idevice.indonesia, peneliti membedah praktik tipifikasi gender terhadap iPhone lewat tiga layer dan menggali bagaimana relasi hegemonik antara Apple, komunitas dan para member. Memadukan pendekatan semiotika Judith Williamson (1978) dan teori encoding-decoding dari Stuart Hall (1980), ditemukan adanya perbedaan konstruksi gender antara Apple dengan komunitas @idevice.indonesia beserta para member. Apple tidak pernah secara tegas memproklamirkan iPhone sebagai produk yang bergender, hanya melakukan tipifikasi gender yang subtil lewat kode warna, objek, dan desain. Sedangkan komunitas @idevice.indonesia dan para member, melakukan tipifikasi gender yang lekat dengan stereotip di budaya patriarki. Temuan ini menjelaskan bahwa prosumer seperti komunitas dan member @idevice.indonesia di satu sisi menguntungkan Apple selaku produsen karena terus menggaungkan iPhone lewat berbagai unggahan dan komentar di Instagram @idevice.indonesia. Di sisi lain, prosumer ternyata merugikan Apple dari segi ideologi karena mematahkan kesadaran gender dan gender bender yang diusung Apple saat memasarkan iPhone. Komunitas dan member @idevice.indonesia pada akhirnya memandang iPhone sebagai produk yang feminin dalam perspektif gender binary. Dengan kata lain, komunitas dan member selaku prosumer sesungguhnya tidak patuh terhadap Apple karena telah melakukan oppositional reading dan membuktikan bahwa prosumer tidak selalu bermanfaat bagi produsen.

Consumer enthusiasm for products can essentially occurs even though there is a minimum advertisement from its producers, as it happens with iPhone products. In Indonesia, the device manufactured by Apple, Inc. only promotes the iPhone 6 through billboards and official resellers. The rest of the promotion activities is actually done by the media and also online communities on social media. One the online communities that plays a significant role is @idevice.indonesia, which is the largest online forum for Apple products [especially the iPhone] in Indonesia. Thus, the community plays a significant role in spreading and accommodating conversations among its members surrounding the product. In addition to spreading and communicating information about the iPhone, their enthusiasm and creativity within the community turns into and has led to be filled with gender practices that traverse into the product itself. At this point, @idevice.indonesia community which involves as an active role both the moderator and its member who then acts as a consumer who consumes text who then also produces text which resulted on a positive impact and benefits iPhone's marketing activities. Thus, in the perspective of participatory culture, the presence of prosumer is often seen as a passive party in the sense of being an accomplice used by producers as well as a mirror to the producers of a brand. By focusing on the gender messages created by the community @idevice.indonesia, researchers dichotomized the practice of gender typification of the iPhone through three layers of communications and explore how the hegemonic relationship occurs between Apple, the community; the moderator and its members. Combining Judith Williamson's semiotics approach (1978) and the theory of encoding-decoding from Stuart Hall (1980), it shows that there were differences in gender construction between Apple and the moderator of @idevice.indonesia community and its members towards iPhone as a product. Apple has never explicitly proclaimed the iPhone as a sexed product, if so, they have used subtle gender typifications through color coding, objects, and design. Whereas the @idevice.indonesia community and members has succeeded applying gender typification practices closely with stereotypes within patriarchal culture. This finding explains that prosumer such as @idevice.indonesia community and its member has benefited Apple because as a producer, they continues to echoes iPhone through various uploads and comments on Instagram account @idevice.indonesia. On the other hand, prosumer was detrimental to Apple in terms of ideology because it destitute the gender awareness and gender bender ideas that Apple has carried throughout the iPhone's marketing effort. The @idevice.indonesia community has ultimately looked at iPhone as a feminine product in a binary gender perspective. In other words, the community as prosumer actually do not comply with Apple because it has implemented oppositional reading and hence, proves that prosumer is not always beneficial for its producers.

Kata Kunci : tipifikasi gender, prosumer, participatory culture, relasi hegemonik, stereotip gender, pesan bergender, komunitas online, iPhone/ gender typifications, prosumer, participatory culture, hegemonic relations, gender stereotype, gender messages, online commu